malt mill advice

So i am in the market for a 6 inch malt mill.
going to motorize it with a old drill i have collecting dust.
I would like adjustable gaping with a hopper.

I have used the schmidling malt mill at my local HBS.
I have seen advertisements for the monster malt mill and the crankenstien.

Can anyone tell me the best bang for the buck?
Any reason to get the 1/2 inch drive shaft option and or the case hardened rollers.

Cheers

for my money, I went with the BarleyCrusher. Very happy with it.

I wouldn't bother with those 'upgrades' unless you foresee some major abuse in your brewhouse.

Can't recommend the BC enough. I only wish I could make a commission recommending it

I would recommend a Monster Mill. The price is very good on the cheapest model at $109:

http://www.monsterbrewinghardware.com/mm-2.html

The specs look very good on these mills. The one linked will work just fine and will likely last longer than you will. I like that the roller shafts are integral with the roller and not pressed in or threaded. I don't have one, but my best friend does and he's very happy with it. The upgraded versions are also very nice, but I would go there only if your budget can easily handle it. I'm using an old Phil Mill I that is no longer in production. It's working great, but if it ever goes south on me, I plan to replace it with a Monster Mill.

Hands down the BarleyCrusher ready to roll out of the box. The owner Randy is a stand up guy and stands behind his products.

I have a 3 roller MM3 MonsterMill with the Hopper and Stainless rollers. Not that I've used other hoppers, but this hopper is very tight. I would recommend.

Another vote for the BarleyCrusher. Prior to buying it I used several different LHBS mills and never got an efficiency higher than 60%. My first batch with the BC on the default setting I hit 82% with no perceivable changes except the mill. Good product for the right price.

I have the schmidling adjustable mill. Bought it bare bones direct and built the rest. I think it is a great mill. I think most people will recommend whatever mill they have because once you get it set up it is a pretty simple machine that does one thing and one thing well, crush grain.

drez77 said:

I think most people will recommend whatever mill they have because once you get it set up it is a pretty simple machine that does one thing and one thing well, crush grain.

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The bottom line is that any of the commonly available mills are capable of producing excellent grist. The default answer is nearly always that the home brewer will tell you he loves whatever it is that he bought or built whether a malt mill, a propane burner, a kettle, most any piece of equipment or even an entire rig. That trend sort of weakens the endorsements IMO, but so it goes.

it really all comes down to value. That's how I made my decision - best bang for the buck at the time.

PintOfBitter said:

it really all comes down to value. That's how I made my decision - best bang for the buck at the time.

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Yes, but value can be very tricky to evaluate. Sometimes you save a buck in the short run, but not in the long run. It can be very deceptive. Fortunately, when it comes to mills, you literally can't go wrong. I have a plate filter for sale.

I went with the barley crusher from a simplicity stand point as much as anything, its all ready to go out of the box, just attach the drill and start milling.

My efficiency went up and I have been very happy with it.

Good choice you will not be sorry.